The AI Founder Playbook: Build, Get Funded & Scale | Pitch Competition
The AI Founder Playbook: Build, Get Funded & Scale
Speakers:
Baurzhan (Baur) Khussainov is Co-Founder & CEO of Verrafied AI, a Seattle startup building AI-powered digital vehicle inspection. Formerly at Microsoft, Google, AWS and Boeing, including scaling OpenAI on Azure and shipping aerospace programs.
Bilol Yuldoshev is a founder and CEO at DriverDetect AI, an AI-powered platform that recruits, screens, and onboards qualified CDL drivers while you sleep. He is a former Senior Economist at the Central Bank of Uzbekistan. Over the past eight years, he has built financial applications and technology solutions as a CEO at FinApps. He is a graduate of Westminster International University in Tashkent.
At the event learn how Bilol moved from the economist role at the Central Bank to a founder role
Ermek Djumataev is Head of Marketing at Emerald AI, where he leads go-to-market strategy for AI infrastructure software that enables AI data centers to intelligently optimize power consumption and grid utilization. Formerly at CentML (acquired by Nvidia), Veon, and Diageo.
Elina Conley is Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Phinorm, a defense and dual-use technology company enhancing radar and sensor capabilities to detect small drones, and Founder and Managing Director of Azenity Consulting, advising SMBs on innovation, commercialization, and funding. She also serves as Entrepreneur in Residence at Innovation DuPage, mentoring early-stage founders on product-market fit, commercialization, and capital strategy.
She holds an Executive MBA from Chicago Booth, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from UIC
Natalia Matiuto, Ph.D in Life Sciences and an M.S. student in Clinical Investigation at Northwestern University. Previously she was a fellow at Flagship Pioneering, a venture creation firm that invents, builds, and funds companies based on breakthrough science and Vamos Ventures. Also, she was a co-Managing DIrector at Nucleate, a nonprofit biotech incubator and founder community
Aiganysh Orozbakova is a Product Leader with 8+ years of experience building and scaling AI/ML products for enterprise retail. She is currently a Product Manager in the Deep Learning & Innovation team at Focal Systems, a company leveraging computer vision and AI to automate store operations, improve inventory visibility, and optimize retail execution. Previously, she served as Director of Software Engineering at SymphonyAI.
Asel Torogulova is a Product and growth professional with experience at Perplexity, Handshake and Try Your Best. Previously led 0-to-1 product development and go-to-market strategy for AI and SaaS platforms, growing one business to €1M ARR in its first year and securing 13 enterprise clients. MS from Carnegie Mellon University.
Dilnoza Alymova CMO, Chicago Eurasian Hub
Marketing executive, entrepreneur, and startup growth strategist with a Master’s degree in Management from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Founder of two startups, with one successful exit.
Experienced in helping startups build distinctive brands, develop effective marketing strategies, and accelerate business growth. Passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, and connecting people, ideas, and opportunities to create lasting business impact..
Almaz Edilbaev CEO, Chicago Eurasian Hub. Former VC investor, startup operator, and 500 Global alumnus.
Agenda:
3:30 Networking, Check-in and welcome
3:50 Chicago Eurasian Hub overview, Chicago startup ecosystem opportunities overview and Fifth Star Funds overview
4:00 Founder talks: From Bigtech (Google, Amazon, Microsoft) to entrepreneurship, Baur Khussainov (Verrafied AI)
4:15 Product Management and GTM Panel
4:40 From Engineering (DeepTech) to Entrepreneurship Panel
5:10 Startup Pitch Competition
6:30 Networking
Food and drinks are included.
Event Details
📅 Date: November 14
🕑 Time: 3:30 pm
🎟️ Seats are limited. Register early to secure your spot.